I'll Always Be There - Revamped
by Keitaro777
Summary: It has been seven years since MaloMyotismon reared his ugly head. Much of the Original Digidestined have spread out into their adult lives but Tai Kamiya feels something in his life is missing. What will they do when a new terror threatens the Digital World as well as their homes? And how will Tai handle his resurging feelings? Taiora. Takari.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Everyone! It has been years since I uploaded anything and I wanted to continue my other version of this story but upon rereading it I don't know that I can continue it in the way I had wanted. So this is my attempt at starting over. I like to believe I have improved as a writer in that time and though there will be similar elements as the last version but much of it will ultimately be different. I hope you enjoy this and let me know what you think.**

Tai Kamiya leaned back comfortably in his favorite armchair, exhausted from finishing a particularly drudging article about the local high school's bowling team. They had made it to regionals and while that was quite an impressive feat no matter what sport it was in, Tai found it difficult to write a particularly gripping article about bowling.

Tai rolled his neck around trying to loosen up the muscles that had been angled toward a computer screen for the last several hours. Work would be calling to ask if he had finished the article and he was relieved he had finished it on time. The Odaiba Post did not like it's low-level journalists to be late, that was for sure.

The apartment was silent and empty. He had sent Agumon and Tentomon to get some ice cream awhile ago to try and get himself some quiet. It hadn't been a particularly good week and working from home on a Saturday was not making it any better. He thought about getting a beer from the fridge but it felt too early in the day for that to be appropriate.

Regardless he forced himself to stand up and continue his stretching, feeling a dull pain thudding in his leg as he did so. He grimaced at his shin as if feeling the break all over again. Tai had shattered his left leg in an exhibition match in his first season playing for the University of Odaiba. An errant slide tackle had forced a compound fracture and it had been so fast and so painful that Tai had barely been able to hear Kari scream from the stands over people's gasps. He had to go through insane rehab to get himself back on his feet but it had cost him his scholarship. Thankfully, the school had paid for all of his medical expenses. Even though his rehab was finished he still didn't feel as if he would ever be back to 100%, and excessive exercise still caused him intense pain. So that had taken away soccer from him, and with losing school he lost another distraction.

"_At least I still get to be near the sport." _Tai thought as he moved out to the balcony to do some yoga before the noisy Digimon returned. "_Things could always be worse,"_

Out on the balcony Tai set to work moving what little furniture they had sitting out there. He shook his head when he looked at the plant that Izzy kept stowed away in the corner. He would never admit it, but he had bought the plant because it reminded him of the foliage in the Digital World.

They could still come and go from the Digital World as they pleased, but with work and busy schedules, it was sometimes difficult to getaway. Izzy was swamped right now with exams. Tai hadn't even seen him in three days as he spent all his time at the library at the University of Tokyo. Izzy had asked Tai to keep an eye on Tentomon, this wasn't a difficult task other than keeping both he and Agumon fed. He knew Izzy wouldn't be too much longer, he had to come home and sleep at some point right?

"_The Digimon.."_ Tai thought as he set about his routine. It had been seven years since they had their run-in with MaloMyotismon and from there, things had spiraled. All of the kids who met their partner Digimon that day had to live with the realization that they couldn't keep their new friends with them on Earth. The Original Digidestined were an exception because their partners had spent elongated time in the real world and their bodies were used to it. Now it seemed the Digital world had placed some restrictions.

Tai had thought that the adventure they had would keep everyone close for their entire lives, looking back however that notion seemed foolish to him. They were 11 for Christ's Sake! Not that they weren't close these days, but they were certainly more spread out.

Matt was currently on tour in South Korea. He was another Digidestined that had opted out of college (his was more of a choice, however). Things with the Teenage Wolves had really taken off in the last couple of years and it took up most of his time and attention. The band had been considering a name change recently. They had put out an internet poll just the other day asking fans to vote on a new name so that they didn't lose too much notoriety with their core fanbase. Tai personally had voted for Fangfur. He felt it still matched the same feel as Teenage Wolves while sticking with the Gabumon tribute the original name intended. He had just gotten a text this morning from Matt, asking if he had wanted to go golfing when he got back from tour. Tai had given a quick yes before giving his friend plenty of guff for being gone for so long. He hadn't seen him much since he and Sora had broken up.

Sora had been accepted into Kyoto University and for she and Matt the distance just hadn't worked. With Matt's traveling and her being a diligent student they simply didn't have the time for each other, and though neither of them would admit it, the spark between them had died quite a while ago. There was still some awkwardness between the two of them but they were slowly getting over it. Sora had been around a lot during Tai's rehab, even coming back to stay with he and Izzy for a while while he was still recovering.

Kari and TK were still going strong. The two of them had started dating right as they entered high school, much to the chagrin of Davis. And now that they were graduated they were out on vacation, visiting Mimi in New York to explore some of America before they each began university. Mimi was a rare sighting these days as she had become very ingrained in American life. They had all gone over to visit over the years but Mimi always made it a point to be in town on August 1st for their anniversary. They all made that a priority and it was something for which Tai was very grateful.

Finally, Joe had gone up to Hokkaido for medical school and from all accounts, he was doing very well! Again the distance meant they saw him very little but Joe was always reliable if he said he was going to be somewhere, and he made it to most celebrations.

Tai was jolted out of his trance by the sound of the door opening.

"Tai! Look who we found!" He smiled as his favorite orange dinosaur bound up to him, a speck of ice cream still on his mouth. Behind him, Tentomon flew in followed by a dreary eyed Izzy who looked as if he might keel over at any moment.

"Hey buddy!" Tai said as his friend entered and set his bag down just inside the door. "Have you been studying this entire time?"

Izzy slowly faced Tai, his eyes blinking the sleep away with all their might. "Abstract Algebra isn't going to pass it's own exam Tai."

"I thought algebra was abstract enough in its base form" Tai muttered and rolled his eyes. "C'mon let's get you some rest." He motioned to Izzy's room on the other side of the kitchen. Izzy didn't need to be told twice as he stumbled his way to the door.

"Tentomon you going in or out?" Tai asked the insect Digimon as he was about to shut Izzy in his room. Tentomon pondered it for a moment before deciding to leave Izzy to his well-deserved rest. "I'll have dinner ready when you wake up." Tai laughed as he shut the door.

Tai ran his hands through his bushy hair as he made his way into the kitchen to begin preparing something to throw in a crockpot. His hair had shortened a bit over the years but he had kept it in it's natural bushy state, even though his employers complained. It felt like a part of himself he wasn't willing to let go of yet.

"Well, Agumon did the Ice cream man run in fear again?" Tai asked his partner.

"Yea Tai! But we thought ahead and Tentomon was waiting for him! We made sure he got the money this time!" Agumon answered excitedly. Tai shook his head at the two Digimon.

"You cornered the poor guy?!" He laughed. Imagining the Digimon closing in on an Ice cream man to politely make sure he was paid for his services. A lot of businesses around them had gotten used to Agumon and Tentomon and knew they were harmless. The Ice cream man who made his way around Odaiba seemed to be a long term holdout, which was unfortunate because his truck was a favorite for them.

"Maybe I should go with you next time." Tai reasoned. He began placing a few short ribs in the crockpot and seasoning them. He had gotten a great deal more skilled with cooking while he was confined to the apartment, but ribs seemed to be the recipe Izzy kept requesting so he figured the least he could do for his friend was cook him something tasty.

He had gotten the recipe from Sora while she stayed with them. That had been an interesting time, Tai had barely seen her since they graduated high school and she moved to Kyoto. But she had put her studies on hold to help him. It was a thought he came back to often. At the crux of his life, it had been Sora there to help him pick up the pieces. She listened to him cry and helped him with his rehab when it seemed that everything else in his life was gone, And he would be forever grateful for her during those times.

But there was more to it than that.

Tai had grown up with a crush on Sora. In the Digital World he liked her a lot in a way that an 11-year-old can. When she had started dating Matt he let her be, even though it had been hard he had moved past his feelings. But after her stint as his Florence Nightingale, Tai had begun to feel something deeper for her.

Tai's cheeks grew pink thinking about her and he tried to push it from his mind. He had gone to Kyoto about a month ago to visit her, and they had a wonderful weekend. She had seemed genuinely excited to see him and show him around her world and Tai couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun with her or any girl for that matter.

"Whatcha thinkin' Tai?" Agumon asked. Tai had shared a few of his thoughts with his partner, but even Agumon didn't know exactly how he felt.

"Not a whole lot. You two want to watch a movie?" He knew that drawing the Digimon's attention was the best way for him to stay in thought for a few hours. Agumon nodded excitedly and Tai made his way over to his collection of Blu Rays and searched for a moment before selecting one. "_Star Wars. _You guys haven't seen this one have you?"

Both Digimon shook their heads and Tai inserted the film into his Playstation before joining them on the couch.

As the movie began Tai's thoughts drifted far from Odaiba. To the Digital World, to his friends, to Sora. Was it wrong for him to be interested in his old friend? Was it worse since she was Matt's ex? Had the world went on around him while he remained rooted in his childhood crush?

Tai bolted awake as the ending credits blared from his speakers. He hadn't even made it past Tatooine in the film, but the Digimon were engrossed. They were already discussing theories about what would happen next. Tai was surprised he had passed out, he hardly ever slept during movies. Before his mind could move to other things he thought about Sora again, and in his sleepy haze he picked up his phone and texted"

"Hey"

And waited as the dots showed up at the bottom as she formed a response.


	2. A Toasty Afternoon

_Hello Friends! Hope all is going well and you enjoy Chapter 2! _

"_Heyy!"_

Tai's eyes lit up as Sora responded and the grey dots were replaced with the bright blue text bubble. Tai tapped quickly across his phone's glass. He hesitated before he clicked send. Was this too fast a response? Would Sora find it weird that he had been waiting for her to respond.

Tai took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. Why did he care so much about this? It was Sora! The only thing that made it weird was how much he was thinking about it.

"_Sor! How's Kyoto?" _Tai subconsciously re-read it and nodded in self-approval before hitting send and slipping the phone back in his pocket.

"That Vader is scarier than Devimon!" Tentomon insisted from the other side of the couch as Agumon claimed the black-armored villain had nothing on him, or at least he wouldn't when the orange dinosaur learned the force. Agumon reached out his left claw and pinched it, imitating Vader in an attempt to "choke" Tentomon. After 3 seconds of silence and frozen movement, the two collapsed into laughter almost knocking over the delicate lamp on the coffee table. Tai rolled his eyes but smirked at their antics. He stood slowly and stretched to the ceiling.

_Budaloop! _His phone signaled from his pocket.

"_Slow here. Homework is finally stopping with the break coming up. My Econ teacher has really been putting the screws to us lately. The change of pace is nice tho lol"_

Tai typed another response distractedly about his most recent article and checked his watch. It was already getting late. Hating to spoil the Digimon's fun he coughed raucously into his fist. Both Digimon turned at his call.

"Bedtime you two! Can't have you getting all cranky on me tomorrow!" Tai sai. He motioned to Agumon. His companion nodded knowingly and followed, though it wasn't without its grumbling.

"We should watch another movie Tai! Or play some video games! I don't care which one but c'mon Tai it's a Sunday tomorrow!"

Tai chuckled as the two entered their bedroom. He didn't have any children but he assumed a partner Digimon was similar. "You need your rest too buddy, it's almost 1 am. You'll thank me tomorrow."

Agumon mumbled something but Tai was too busy fishing his phone out of his pocket to hear. "_Work is that bad huh?"_

The air in Tai's lungs squeezed it's way out. Why did he bring up work?

"_Could be worse I guess. Sorry I shouldn't be complaining."_

"_No no! You have every right to complain! Last year was so...rough." _The reply came before he'd even set his phone down.

Tai racked his brain for a topic to change the subject.

"_Yea...but hey I got to see more of you! That's something right?" _Tai typed. His chest caught when he didn't see the dots for a return message. Had he been too flirty? He didn't think it had been that bad, just friendly chit chat. He slipped his polo shirt off and hopped over Agumon's little custom made bed and landed on his own.

Tai stared at his phone as the clock ticked away. It wasn't until his phone slipped onto his face that he checked his watch to see how long it had been. 30 Minutes. His eyes wouldn't stay open much longer.

Tai sighed. He wasn't an unattractive guy. There were even some women at work that seemed somewhat interested in him. He could see their eyelashes flutter as they "nonchalantly" brought up their seeming lack of weekend plans. At some level in his core it even felt like he was wasting his time with his feelings for Sora.

But there was just something about her.

He couldn't forget her voice. The way she said his name with a smirk and a twinkle in her gorgeous eyes. The way her hips sashayed as she walked. Every conversation they had together engrossed him whether it was about something intellectual or the most meaningless banter on earth. He wanted to talk with her all of the time. Everytime a woman would come onto him or he thought about asking someone else out there was a deep nagging that always brought him back.

Though he was lost in thought Tai soon found even his musings could not keep him awake as he slipped off silently into his dreams.

Sunlight smacked Tai in the face as it breached his windowsill.

Tai groaned loudly enough to wake Agumon who had been snoring beside him. He had no idea what time it was, but his phone had fallen to the floor and had run out of battery at some point during the night. Normally he would charge it before climbing into bed, but his mind had been elsewhere the night before.

Luckily his watch told him it was 10 in the morning. Not too shabby for a lazy Sunday.

Tai's room was much the same as it had been the previous day, and for many days before that. Dirty clothes littered the floor and hung from every conceivable hook or cranny that could be found. An old water glass and a day old plate that had been used for nachos sat on his nightstand and several empty water bottles sat in a pile beside his bed. Tai rooted around in his clothes until he found a comfortable blue shirt and slid it on, followed by a pair of black gym shorts.

A smell from the kitchen lured Tai to his feet and he yawned as he shambled out of his bedroom. Izzy stood at the stove, pushing something around clumsily in a non-stick pan, he was smartly dressed and ready for the day, something Tai was clearly not.

"Good morning." Izzy said casually as he flipped what Tai could only assume were eggs. "Sleeping a bit late today aren't we?"

"Give me a break Izzy there's no work today."

"Still it's always good to remain on a schedule even on days off!"

"Oh, yea, studying for three days straight is a schedule now?" Tai smirked.

Izzy was ready for the barb and chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders. Tai stuck his phone charger into an outlet on the side of the counter and climbed onto a chair right next to it.

"I was doing a little checking up this morning." Izzy began as he scooped 4 helpings of eggs onto 4 plates. "It seemed as if there was a small blip up in the northwest corner of Server."

"A Blip?" Tai asked. They hadn't seen any issues in the Digital World for quite some time. The Digidestined had needed to talk down a very angry Monochromon who had somehow had several portions of food stolen from him by a couple of mischievous Numamon, It wasn't a big issue but it had taken a fair amount of bribery to make it right.

"Yes! But I don't think it's much. Could just be a little skirmish over borders or something like that." Izzy said. He handed Tai a plate and began to chow down on his own breakfast.

"Yea…" Tai said before being cut off by his illuminating phone. As it booted up Tai saw that Sora had responded some time during the night.

"_Yea! We haven't seen that much of each other since we were kids! If I didn't know any better I'd say you haven't changed a bit!" _Tai's jaw tensed as he read the end of her sentence. Sure he hadn't done a 180 with his personality; he still liked to joke and it was a bad habit of his to make light of most serious situations, but he liked to believe that he had grown much more mature in the last couple of years.

"So Tai." Izzy said as he swallowed a mouthful of food. "How's your leg feeling?"

"It's always sore Izzy." Tai said. " It still sucks." He knew Izzy was just asking a question about his well-being but he had been asked the same question by dozens of doctors and he was tired of answering it. Izzy looked at him sadly. He hated when he made that face at him, he hated the pity.

Tai tapped across his phone for a moment. "_Hey now I have matured a ton since we were little! I have a 401k Sor." _

"I'm sorry to hear that buddy, I'm sure it'll get better with time!" Izzy said and took his plate to the sink to rinse it. Izzy was already struggling with something else to continue the small talk. "And how are you handling getting back to work? What do they have you doing?"

"Um this week they want me to write an article about a festival at the community center. Something dumb about international foods." Tai said without looking up from his phone.

"Huh! I thought you would be more into international foods Tai! Take Agumon and Tentomon I'm sure they'd love to check it out."

"I Can't write an article about it if they eat everything Izzy." Tai chuckled. As if he had felt his ears burning, Tentomon emerged from Izzy's room. He flew slower and more shakily that usual, but perked up when he saw breakfast before him.

"_Wow Kamiya, look at you moving up in the world." _Sora texted back. "_And here I am just hanging around in school!" _

"I think I'll head back to the library today, I really need to make sure I'm prepared for classes this week." Izzy said.

"You've really locked into school Izzy." Tai said nonchalantly, he was barely trying at this point. He kept glancing down at his phone, trying to figure out what conversation to strike up with Sora next. He wanted to make it interesting, but not too flirty.

"_Well when do you think you'll be back to visit?"_

A loud clearing of the throat rang in Tai's ears which forced his attention off of his phone and back to Izzy, who's eyebrows were raised in annoyance.

"What?"

"Tai, I've been having a conversation with myself for about a minute now."

Tai set his phone face down and rested his head in his palms. He gave Izzy a small smile. "My bad man! You were saying?"

Izzy rolled his eyes and waved his arms dismissively. "It's not interesting, who are you texting? It seems like a pretty engrossing conversation."

"Oh, it's just Sora"

Izzy looked at him knowingly, this wasn't the first time they had had an unpleasant conversation about Sora. "Tai I really think it is imperative that-."

"Izzy, she's my friend. We're not going to stop talking because she dated Matt" Tai waved him off and finished his breakfast. It suddenly occurred to him that Agumon hadn't shown himself that morning yet.

"I know, I just worry about the group dynamic is all! And you know, you used to be pretty hung up on her."

Tai groaned and tossed his plate in the sink. "Izzy I promise you it's fine. I am over it." He hoped his lie sounded convincing. Izzy's eyes remained suspicious.

"All I'm saying is if you try to date her it's really going to throw things off. Matt will be pissed and things might go south again. It is always best to be calculating and rational about these things." Izzy said pointedly. A wry smile lit his face.

Tai shook his head. Izzy knew him too damn well. He thought of another retort, but held himself back. He didn't want to upset Izzy any more than he had to, that wasn't fair to him.

"I don't know man..things are weird right now…"

Izzy gave him another sympathetic glance. "Look. Things will get back to normal. You're probably just feeling a little Florence Nightingale syndrome that's all."

"Izzy I told yo-" Tai cut himself off. He knew there wasn't anything he could say to change Izzy's mind.

Thankfully for him Izzy said nothing more on the matter, he simply shrugged and left to gather his things. Tai set about cleaning the dishes in the sink, Izzy had made a delicious breakfast and the least he could do was clean up.

Tai was so locked into what he was doing that he didn't hear Agumon groggily stepping up behind him.

"Morning...Tai." He yawned and stretched his arms mightily. Before he could say another word Tai handed him the dish that Izzy had made. He smiled as the dinosaur scarfed the eggs down in the blink of an eye.

"Good morning buddy! And how are you doing this morning?"

"I'm good! Stiff though. I don't think I slept good."

"Well, how about we go for a walk then? Get out of the house a little bit." Tai suggested. He put the last of the plates away and dried his hands. Agumon nodded his head excitedly and ran to wait by the door. Tai quickly stepped into his tennis shoes and joined him.

He opened the apartment door to a blast of warm sunlight and a light breeze. The tinged chill of a spring morning had passed and there was nothing left but the light preview of the summer that was to come. Tai took a deep breath and headed to the stairs.

The two walked for a mile or so away from the apartment buildings, into the historic downtown of Odaiba. Small businesses lined the road, most of them small antique shops or restaurants. Tai waved at a few of the owners as they passed by the large merchandise packed windows.

Agumon was loving the warm day. "Why can't it be this temperature all the time Tai? In the Digi world we didn't have nearly this many different kinds of weather in one area! I don't think I saw a single snowflake before you guys showed up on File Island."

"That's just kind of the way it works in this world. I guess if we went further south we wouldn't see as much winter weather but Japan gets quite a bit of it." Tai explained. "It's not all bad though! You always have some fire to keep you warm!"

"It's not the same when it's my fire! I barely even find that warm!"

Tai chuckled and checked his phone again. No response.

"Shit." He muttered under his breath. Agumon turned to question him but before he could they cleared the row of buildings in their view came a large, open park.

Tai recognized it immediately as the park where he spent so many hours practicing his craft with a soccer ball. He hadn't come back here since the injury and a lump formed in his throat.

So many opportunities felt completely out of his reach. The future he thought was set in stone crumbled behind him. A deep, suffocating cloud moved in around him as his leg began to throb. His dream was over, he would never play the sport he loved so much at a professional leve, and his eyes watered slightly.

"Tai…"

Tai waved his partner off. He wiped his eyes immediately and cleared his throat. It wasn't the time for this. "I'm alright."

Even Tai didn't believe himself as the words sort of tumbled out of his mouth. This wasn't working, he couldn't keep on dwelling on his pain, his job did nothing to distract him and every day he was thinking about it more. Something needed to change. Something drastic needed to happen.

Tai hiked home much quicker than usual. He had to keep stopping and waiting for Agumon to catch up. He knew Agumon was concerned about him, and that the poor Digimon struggled to run for long distances but he couldn't slow down, he needed to get home before Izzy left for the day.

They made it back to the apartment in record time and Tai bounded the stairs two at a time. Tai's hand shot for the door but before he could grip the doorknob it pulled inward, revealing Izzy standing with a full backpack and earbuds in both ears.

Izzy plucked his earbuds out and raised a tired eyebrow at Tai. "What is the matter Tai, you look winded."

Tai snorted softly. He didn't like to think about how out of shape he was now that he wasn't regularly exercising, however he shook off the comment and looked Izzy dead in the eye.

"That Blip you saw this morning, we should go check it out!"

"What? Now? Tai I have so many things I need to go over today. I was going to check it out tomorrow, can't you wait until then?" Izzy groaned. He hated when his plans got thrown out of whack.

"Well I'm going to check it out now, and you really should come too. Remember the Davis Rule?" Tai smirked as Izzy glared him down.

The Davis Rule was an idea Yolei had come up with. Whenever the Digidestined decided to investigate things in the Digi World they always had to travel in twos. The rule was so named because of a solo mission Davis had taken. Ex-Veemon had been able to rescue him from his fall but not before the poor boy had dashed his head hard against a rock. Tai knew Izzy had agreed vehemently with this rule, and he could almost see his friends teeth grating through his cheeks.

Izzy sighed in resignation. "Fine, but only because I know you're likely to get yourself killed if you go it alone." Izzy turned his back to Tai and set his backpack down in the hallway. "Come to my room in ten minutes, make sure you pack something for warm weather."

"Attaboy Izzy!" Tai whooped as he patted his friend on the shoulder. "You always come through for me, I'll be there!"

Agumon's chest heaved as he panted his way into Tai's and his room. "Why... do you want to...check this out so much?" Agumon said, taking deep breaths between his words. Tai was already tossing a change of clothes into a small drawstring bag, you never knew how long these trips could take.

"It's our job to keep the Digi World safe buddy! I'm just looking out for our friends." Tai said with a grin. He could feel his adrenaline starting to kick in. The chance for adventure lifted the pressure from his head, and the world looked brighter, more exciting.

"But what is even happening there?"

"Who knows, Izzy saw a Blip!"

"But Tai-" His partner began, but Tai cut him off.

"Agumon, this is a good idea, just trust me, ok?" He said. Agumon looked him up and down and nodded. He had known Tai long enough to know what was going on. Tai was feeling the call of adventure. More specifically the call for a distracting adventure.

"If you say so, I'm with you."

A friendly warmth spread over Tai, and he beamed at his partner. He knew his Digimon would do anything for him, and he knew he would do anything to keep Agumon safe.

It didn't take long for Tai to reenter the living room. He had tossed on a compression sleeve for his leg and knotted up his hiking boots. He found Izzy at the counter, pouring some trail mix into a baggie. Tentomon fluttered beside him, asking him about the different ingredients. No matter how long the Digimon stayed on Earth, chocolate seemed to have eluded Tentomon's understanding, or how it could be incorporated into M&M's so well.

Izzy gave Tai a slight nod as he closed up his trail mix and set it neatly in his bag. He slipped it carefully across his shoulder and motioned to this room.

Tai gripped his bag more tightly and followed his friend. Tai, Agumon, and Tentomon stood awkwardly behind Izzy as he typed furiously into his computer, but before long a familiar looking window opened and revealed a swirling portal of blues.

"You know the drill." Izzy said. He raised his digivice and Tai followed his lead. A tickle flitted its way up Tai's spine as he instinctively said the magic words in unison with Izzy.

"Digiport Open!"

And the screen of the computer engulfed them in a blinding light.

The ground came at him fast as Tai's vision filled with the sight of the impending Digital World. He prepared himself to hit the ground, a small roll could go a long way.

The instant Tai felt himself touching earth he rolled swiftly to his right side. Or he thought he did, his throbbing lower back disagreed with him about how soft he had landed.

With a loud groan Tai pulled himself up to his feet and he looked around fervently. He spotted Agumon not far to his right, and Izzy and Tentomon not terribly far from him.

"Did we land where we were supposed to?" Tai called Izzy who was already reaching for his laptop.

After a few quick moments of typing Izzy glanced up. "We're about a Kilometer south of where I had planned to put us. We can walk the rest of the way."

Tai nodded and reached out a hand for Agumon, it wasn't the first time they had been thrown off course entering the Digital World. Interdimensional travel was still an imprecise art.

Once everyone was on their feet the group began to trek north, where they soon found themselves standing along the top riff of a canyon. It didn't take them long to find a solid wooden bridge to the west. Tai looked over the edge and remembered vividly all the times they had been thrown down into canyons, or off cliffs, or into lava. It was truly astounding the kind of dangerous situations they had survived together. No 11 year olds had any business defying death the way they had. An exhilarating rush fired down his spine as he reminisced.

"I don't remember coming up this way. But it reminds me of the desert with all of the electrical poles on File Island." Izzy said. He periodically looked down at his digivice to make sure they were going the right way.

Tai had to agree with his shorter friends. Grainy, grey sand swished about under their feet with each step. Every couple of minutes Tai reached up to his forehead to wipe sweat away from his drenched brow. The temperature seemed to rise by the moment.

"It should be right around-" Izzy faltered. He rooted to his spot and squinted his eyes. "Tai, look!"

Tai looked where his friend was pointing and saw exactly what Izzy was worried about. A large billow of smoke crested a nearby dune. Without another word the 4 of them sprinted toward the black cloud. They sped over a hill and looked down in horror.

A tiny village, no more than 13 to 15 huts was on fire. Tiny Yokomon was piling out of their village with reckless abandon.

"Tai, we need a plan." Izzy said calmly.

Tai didn't listen. His legs were moving on their own as he charged full speed across the desert sands, planning wasted precious time, time these Yokomon didn't have.

The swirling, noxious smoke congealed into a wall enveloping the village. Yokomon poured out of the veil, coughing, wheezing and crying for their loved ones. Tai surveyed the smoke in a blink before kicking off his back foot and launching into the haze with a deep breath.

The little wooden huts made from nothing but wood and straw hadn't stood a chance, and the roof of one to his right crashed in on itself. A soft cry hit Tai's ears and he wheeled toward it without thinking and plunged into the nearest hut.

Tai struggled to clamber into the small structure and found himself squatting deeply and hastily crab walking through the door. Inside he found a large Yokomon lying completely unconscious in the middle of the floor. Two smaller Yokomon pulled at the motionless body desperately crying for help over the roar of the flames.

There was a crack overhead, and several patches of flaming straw fell into the hut. Tai swatted it down with his bare arm. He grimaced as skin seared just above his wrist and swatted at the embers.

"Shit," He muttered as he brushed the ashes off his skin along with several of his arm hairs. Tai scanned the roof to make sure no more unwelcome embers would be cascading down at them and scooped up the unconscious Yokomon in his left arm, and hoisted the small two Digimon in his right. Rescuees in tow he ducked under the doorway and bolted for the outskirts of the village.

Izzy, Tentomon, and Agumon were all outside of the village when Tai cleared the smoke. Agumon ran up to him and took the Yokomon from his arms. Tai hacked loudly and looked out at the herd of Yokomon that had just been displaced. They looked horrified, the air around them was thick with tension and many of them seemed to be rooted to their spots, staring deep into the wreckage that was their homes.

"To the top of the hill!" Tai roared. He skirted around the tailend of the mass spurring people toward Tentomon who led from the front.

Thanks to the joint effort the shocked crowd slowly began to crawl up the small incline. A weep or two could be heard from the group and Tai could hear Izzy repeating the orders to the Yokomon on the right side of the huddle, doing his best to keep the group moving. Tentomon led from within the pack, offering kind words and a level head to the escapees.

Tai spun around to check the security of their retreat and was pleased to find that the fire was not advancing, the sand around the village had held the flames back and with no ground vegetation to feed from it had no way to chase them up the hill.

After they had trekked a small distance the group collapsed in a stressed, overworked heap. Tentomon and Izzy worked their way around the camp, checking on little ones and giving first aid where it was needed. Tai retrieved a water bottle and dribbled a couple of drops onto his burn. He ripped the torso from one of his spare shirts and wrapped his wrist loosely.

"I'm going to make sure that there's enough food to go around." Agumon pulled their provisions from the bag and set about distributing a little morsel to each group or family of Yokomon. Food seemed to lighten some spirits around the camp and Tai passed his 2 two water bottles around to stave off dehydration. There was a great deal of hacking and Tai felt a strong tickle in his throat as well; he had done a good job not breathing in while he was in the eye of the fire but when he had burned he was forced to inhale a great deal of smoke.

"Here, take some for yourself." Izzy appeared next to him and handed him the last of a little yellow canteen. Tai obliged without fuss. The cool water splashed down his throat and provided some relief.

Tai took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. "So, what do you think happened here?"

"Hard to say. Could have been an accident I suppose. But then you think there would have been more time to evacuate." Izzy said. "We can ask them when things calm down a little. In the meantime why don't you go see if you can find some more food."

Tai nodded and gathered Agumon and a couple of willing Yokomon. They searched for the better part of the afternoon and together they pulled together enough little vegetables from a nearby stream for most of the group.

They returned to the campsite to find some raised spirits and a bit of excitement over the food. Digimon rarely stayed down for long. Tai spotted Izzy a ways away speaking earnestly to an elderly digimon.

The Floramon stood only a few feet tall, just a bit shorter than Agumon. It looked very similar to any Floramon they had come across besides a small bit of withering around the edges of her leaves and deep veiny wrinkles resting below her eyes. She used a small twig with a single leaf hanging on the branch for a cane. As Tai approached he heard Izzy asking a few questions.

"I'm sorry young lad." The old Digimon said, her voice sounded tired but warm, the same way a grandmother might talk to an earnest child. "I'm afraid I am the only one you may talk to. Our Chieftain left us several weeks ago and we haven't seen him since."

"Do you know what caused the flames?" Izzy asked, taking notes on his laptop while he listened attentively.

"In fact I do. There was a battle not terribly far from our village. A Tyrannomon and a Greymon if my old eyes saw what I think they saw. A blast of fire came flying at us but we are no great warriors. If Chief Kiwimon had been with us he may have been able to stop it." She said, answering as best she could.

"What happened to Kiwimon? Has he been chief for long?" Tentomon chimed in. "Kiwimon tend to be fiercely loyal and that's not a Digimon you want to mess with!"

"He had been Chief for many years over our small village. But several weeks ago he left us. He said many strange things about feeling a disruption in the Digital World. He took off toward the west and we have heard naught of him since." Floramon sighed sadly. "It fell to me to guide our people in this tragedy, and I fear I have failed too deeply to be forgiven…"

Agumon was at her side in a flash. "Don't talk like that! You did the best you could. Anyone would have done the same in your place."

As Agumon comforted the interim chief Izzy lifted his head from his computer screen.

"That explains why there was a delay between the blip and the fire. The Blip was the fight, and the fire wasn't lit until later. Frankly we're lucky we arrived when we did." Izzy said matter of factly.

"So it was just an accident?" Tai raised his eyebrows. Something in the pit of his stomach told him that wasn't likely, it seemed too off the cuff. But stranger things had happened in the past…

"Brawling Digimon isn't necessarily a new concept, Tai." Izzy said. "But there aren't a lot of Digimon out there with what I would call malicious intent."

"Even the toughest Digimon tend to keep to themselves." Tentomon added. While the three conferred about the possibilities a small Yokomon approached them.

"Excuse me." She said with the tiniest squeak of a voice. "I saw the Greymon had really black scary eyes.

"Black eyes?" Agumon asked, turning to Yokomon with wide eyes. Tai knew Agumon's mind had immediately gone to Black Wargreymon, and if he was being honest so had his.

"They seemed... foggy, and dusty." Yokomon said, nodding her head to affirm herself. Agumon dropped his head and pursed his lips. Tai put a gentle hand on his shoulder and rubbed it.

"Black foggy eyes…" Tai muttered, he looked to Izzy for any sign of confirmation. When he found one he tossed out the first idea he could think of. " Black gears? Or rings? Maybe it was a spiral."

"If I remember correctly Tai those Digimon had red eyes." Izzy said. He scratched his chin and stared at the ground. "But it certainly warrants more investigation."

It was then that the old Floramon spoke up once again. "I think it would be wise to find Kiwimon. He always knows how to handle these situations. He is no fool. If he felt a disturbance then I think he is most likely right."

Tai looked to Izzy again and the shorter boy merely shrugged.

"We don't seem to have any other leads at the moment. I'll go call and see if I can wrangle up a few of the others." Izzy retrieved his phone and immediately began typing a group message.

As he walked away Tai walked over to where his backpack sat at the edge of camp. After a couple seconds of digging he pulled out two thick wool blankets and handed one to Agumon. Tai propped his head up against his bag and Agumon set his head on Tai's stomach.

Tai tried his best to close his eyes and rest, but his endorphins hadn't fully calmed down yet. And something lingered in the back of his mind. This seemed too random to be an accident. Was it simply a coincidence or was something deeper at work?

Tai felt his phone buzz several times and a quick check told him that Kari, TK, and Ken would be joining them as soon as possible. Tai felt a distant slight pang that Sora hadn't messaged yet, but it left his mind as soon as it came and before he knew it Tai was snoring loudly in the cooling dusk of the desert.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review with some constructive criticism or just tell me what you think!


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